Ephesians 4 Lesson

SHOWING GOD THAT WE LOVE HIM

How do we show God that we love him? 

By keeping His commandments! 

That is what the Bible teaches, and that is what God’s children are to do.

Similarly, Jesus said:

• “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” – John 14:15.

There is no ambiguity in the Bible.  It clearly states that we show our love to God and Jesus by obeying their commandments. 

And while that is a simple concept to understand, putting it into practice can be more challenging, largely in part to the relentless attacks of the devil (1 Peter 5:8). 

Today’s lesson is divided into three parts:

1. Learning God’s commandments,
2. Resisting the devil,
3. Walking in a manner worthy of our calling.

LEARNING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

The only way to learn God’s commandments is to study the Bible.

Our salvation is too important to rely on the advice of others, or to simply do what we “feel is right.” 

The Bible warns us that we cannot always trust our own instincts.  Satan is a master of deception who will try to deceive us every chance that he gets.  If we are not able to interpret the Bible for ourselves, we are putting our souls at risk!

Consider the following warning from the Book of Proverbs:

• “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” – Proverbs 14:12.  

To be certain that we are living our lives in agreement with God’s commandments, there are no shortcuts.  We must read the Bible and be able to interpret it for ourselves.  Paul wrote about this in his second letter to Timothy:

• “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:15.

To show our love for God and Jesus, we need to keep their commandments.  That starts with a solid understanding of the Bible!

RESISTING THE DEVIL

Once we understand what God’s commandments are, we need to do all that we can to keep them. 

Satan will fight us every step of the way and will try to trip us up. 

The good news is that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us (James 4:7). And the best way to resist the devil is to put on the full armor of God!

In Ephesians Chapter 6, the Apostle Paul wrote:

• “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:10-11.

When we think of armor, we think of soldiers protecting themselves from harm. It is not surprising that Paul would use this analogy. 

At the time that he wrote his letter to the Ephesians, Paul was under house arrest and guarded by Roman soldiers. Seeing them in their protective armor would have been a common occurrence for Paul.

Paul teaches us how we can protect ourselves from the evil forces of the world. 

He writes:

• “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.’” – Ephesians 6:12-13.

The forces of darkness are powerful and all around us, and they are not to be taken lightly! 

Peter wrote about this in his first epistle:

• “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’” – 1 Peter 5:8.

The devil is not a weak opponent. He is described as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 

The good news for us is that as powerful as these evil forces are, they are no match for the power of God!

John recorded the following words spoken by Jesus:

• “And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” - John 10:28-30.

After we have learned God’s commandments, we need to put them into practice. 

When the devil tries to spoil our efforts, we need to protect ourselves by putting on the full armor of God. 

If we resist the devil, he will flee from us!

WALKING IN A MANNER WORTHY OF OUR CALLING

When we accept Jesus as our Savior and commit to following Him, we need to change our behavior. 

As we study the Bible, we will quickly learn that some of the things that we previously did and said are not in agreement with God’s commands, and not what He wants us to do. 

If we love God, we need to work at eliminating these stumbling blocks from our lives. Each of us is vulnerable in our own way to sin.  Satan knows this, and he will try to exploit our weaknesses in deceptive ways. 

We can protect ourselves by avoiding situations that tempt us and by choosing friends that build us up in the Lord. 

Consider the following words spoken by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount:

• “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.If your right-hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” - Mathew 5:29-30.

Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord may mean separating ourselves from friends that entice us to sin.  In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he issued the following warning:

• “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God.” – 1 Corinthians 15:33-34.

To walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, we need to be careful what sort of things we are paying attention to and thinking about. 

As God’s children, we are not to focus on the worst of humanity and the sins of others.  That is not our calling. 

The Bible tells us what types of things we are supposed to be thinking about in the following scripture:

• “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:8-9.

CONCLUSION

God loves us.

That is why He sent Jesus to die on the cross and pay the price for our sins once and for all time (Hebrews 10:10).

• “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16. 

The way that we show our love in return is by keeping the commandments of God and Jesus (John 14:15).

To do this, we need to focus on three things:

1. Learning God’s commandments,
2. Resisting the devil,
3. Walking in a manner worthy of our calling.

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture from Paul’s second letter to Timothy. 

These are the same words that we want to be able to say when our time on earth is up:

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” – 2 Timothy 4:7-8.